The Portuguese Rally Championship has not undergone any major changes for 2024 and the calendar consists of the same eight events that defined it last year, divided into two stages, each with four events, both on dirt and tarmac. The season started almost at the end of February with the Serras e Fafe Rally, Felgueiras, Boticas and Cabeceiras de Basto, now out of the ERC. Kris Meeke, again in the Korean brand's Hyundai i20N Rally 2, won, followed by Armindo Araújo and Rúben Rodrigues, both in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. The competition returned to the road in mid-March for the Casinos do Algarve Rally. In the south of the country, the top two finishers were the same, but the lowest place on the podium was the ‘home driver’, national champion Ricardo Teodósio, in Hyundai Portugal's other i20N Rally2. At the end of April, the Terras d'Aboboreira Rally took place, the other Portuguese event that is also part of the FIA European Rally Trophy. Several foreign competitors took the opportunity to practise for the next round of the WRC, which took place in Portugal. Absolute victory went to Kris Meeke, followed by Frenchmen Pierre-Louis Loubet and Yohan Rossel in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 and Citroën C3 Rally2, respectively. When it came to the podium for the CPR, Meeke took the top spot and was accompanied by Armino Araújo and Pedro Almeida in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. At the beginning of May, the WRC visited Portugal for the Vodafone Rally de Portugal. In the standings extrapolated to the national championship, Kris Meeke once again came out on top, while Armindo Araújo was in the lowest position. Between them was José Pedro Fontes in a Citroën C3 Rally2. Towards the end of June, the CPR entered its asphalt phase with the Castelo Branco Rally. Meeke once again took the lead, but a problem with his car meant he fell to 6th place. Armindo Araújo won, followed by José P. Fontes and the Spaniard Roberto Blach. Fontes and Spaniard Roberto Blach. For the CPR, third place points were awarded to João Barros in a VW Polo GTi R5. Classification: 1st Kris Meeke, 122; 2nd Armindo Araújo, 111; 3rd José P. Fontes, 60; 4th Pedro Almeida, 44; 5th Ernesto Cunha and Ricardo Teodósio, 43; 7th Paulo Neto, 38; 8th Lucas Simões, 32; 9th Ricardo Filipe, 26; 10th Rúben Rodrigues, 18; 11th João Barros, 17; 12th Gonçalo Henriques, 15; 13th Pedro Meireles and Hugo Lopes, 12; 15th Anton Korzun, 7. 35 drivers have qualified.

New for 2023, this is one of the most demanding Special Stages of the rally. As it has areas that are very similar to each other, it requires very good reconnaissance work with precise and reliable pace notes. It's also very demanding for navigators. It starts on the descent from Paúl da Serra to Prazeres, where it turns west along the ER 222 to Ponta do Pargo. The weather conditions may be different from the rest of the day's Special Stages and the surface is usually damp on the first pass. The route is very tight and fast. Access: Via VE 3: Prazeres, Maloeira, Raposeira, access to the Motocross Track and Lombada dos Marinheiros.

On the occasion of Rali Vinho da Madeira, the sixth event in the Portuguese Rally Championship, the FPAK, in partnership with the FIA and Rali Vinho da Madeira, is organising a Forum on Environmental Sustainability in Motor Sport. The initiative will take place next Wednesday, 31 July at 4.30pm in the Colégio dos Jesuítas building in Funchal, where the Rectory of the University of Funchal is located. The event's programme includes speeches by various personalities linked to motorsport and, above all, environmental issues: Pedro Barros Pereira, member of the FPAK Board and responsible for Environmental Sustainability, Bárbara Silva, FIA Sustainability Director, José Paulo Fontes, President of the RVM Organising Committee, Cora Teixeira, Director of Tourism Qualification Services, representing the Regional Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Culture, Nelson Correia and Fernando Mascôto Spínola, FPAK Environmental Delegates, Juan Santos, Environmental Commissioner, José Pedro Fontes, Armindo Araújo and João Silva, Rally Drivers, Pedro Melvill Araújo, FPAK Board Member and Clerk of the Course of Rali Vinho da Madeira, Hélder Spínola from the University of Madeira and António Filipe, Director of the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation, representing the Regional Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment and Elsa Fernandes, Vice Rector representing the Rector of the University of Madeira. This Forum on Environmental Sustainability in Motorsport aims to debate social responsibility and the commitment of motorsport to the pursuit of best environmental practices.

Ponta do Sol starts at Vale and Cova do Pico Estates and progresses through very fast areas with a few hairpins in between, all the way to Carvalhal, traditionally a spectacle area in the streets neighbouring the municipal stadium. From there, and since last year, the stage starts to climb up to Paúl da Serra. This stretch is characterised by very fast areas, interspersed with some hairpins and others requiring a lot of attention, until you reach the beautiful plateau. Access From Ponta do Sol: via Cam. Lombo do Meio, via est. Eng. Ribeiro de Sousa and ER 222  

João Silva, driving a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, is looking ahead to Rali Vinho da Madeira with the aim of ‘fighting for victory. However, I'm aware of the enormous difficulty and demands this will entail. The pace will have to be very strong, but we mustn't make any mistakes either, as this race counts towards the championship. The season has exceeded expectations because our goal was to adapt to the new car and we've managed to fight for wins. We're the leaders, but our lead is short and everything is still open. In this edition of the rally, anyone who wants to be on the podium has to go as fast as possible. Last year we saw that the paces of the main competitors were very close. I think that this year the drivers from abroad will be able to break what has been, for almost a decade, the dominance of the Madeiran teams. This should be one of the best editions of the event’. João Silva is 36 years old and did his first rally in 2007 with a Toyota Yaris. With a Renault Clio R3, he was Madeira's junior champion in 2009 and 2011. That same year, he was national two-wheel drive champion. In this field and with a Peugeot 208 Rally4, he was regional champion in 2023. He won his first overall rally in 2017, in Calheta, at the wheel of a Citroën DS3 R5. He took part in the WRC Academy in 2012 in a Ford Fiesta R2. He is the leader of the 2024 regional championship.

This year's Madeira Rally Championship broadly kept the same rules as the previous edition and a calendar with seven events between March and November. The season started in Machico and there Miguel Nunes, again teaming up with João Paulo in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, collected maximum points. João Silva, now with Luis Rodrigues also in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, was second but fastest in 3 of the 9 stages. Miguel Caires, always with João M. Sousa in the same car as his rivals, took the lowest place on the podium. The competition returned to the road in Calheta in mid-April. In the west, Nunes won again, but was unable to pick up maximum points as João Silva, second, also picked up the victory bonus on the last timed section. Miguel Caires joined them on the podium. A turnaround in the championship followed at the beginning of May in São Vicente. In the north, Silva took the lead and Nunes, who was following in his wake, hit a bump and dropped out. With his first win of the year and a podium shared with Miguel Caires and José Camacho, the driver of the FX Skoda now leads the championship. In the middle of July, the excitement went to Ribeira Brava. Silva got his win of the year but only gained two points on his biggest rival, as Nunes got four of the bonus points for speed in the special test. With these results, João Silva leads the FPAK competition with a 14-point advantage over Miguel Nunes. Miguel Caires is third, having always been on the podium and having also been the fastest in the timed sections on six occasions. In the competition for users of two-wheel drive vehicles, Vasco Silva has always won, having returned to the competition with Tiago Fernandes in a Renault Clio Rally4, but in Ribeira Brava he was behind the wheel of a Peugeot 208 Rally4. His closest rival has been Rui Jorge Fernandes, with João P. Freitas, also in a Renault, who should have won in the last event but punctured in the final kilometres. Artur Quintal, in a Peugeot 208 Rally4, is third. Ivo Sardinha, navigated by Marco Leça in a Peugeot 208 R2, continues to lead the Eng Rafael Costa Trophy. Classification: 1st João Silva, 97; 2nd Miguel Nunes, 83; 3rd Miguel Caires, 71; 4th Vasco Silva, 48; 5th José Camacho, 41; 6th Rui Pinto, 40; 7th Rui J. Fernandes, 31; 8th Artur Quintal, 18; 9th Filipe Pires and Vítor Sá, 14; 11th Renato Pita, 10; 12th Cláudio Nóbrega, 9; 13th Filipe Silva and Pedro M. Gomes, 6; 15th Emanuel Martins and Gil Silva, 5; 17th Nuno Ferreira and Nuno Figueira, 4; 19th Ivo Sardinha, Sandro Teixeira, José Jarimba, Jerónimo Silva and João Passos, 3. 48 drivers have qualified.